Passenger rail system again being discussed for the Midwest

A four-billion dollar passenger rail system is again under consideration for the Midwest. Nine states, including Iowa, Amtrak and the federal government are working on the plan.Iowa D-O-T transportation planner John Hey says one high-speed spur would link Chicago & Omaha, with possible stops in Atlantic, Des Moines, Newton, Iowa City & the Quad Cities. Hey says don’t expect to buy tickets anytime soon though as the line wouldn’t extend to Iowa until 2005.The current plan is for there to eventually be four daily roundtrip runs between Omaha & Chicago through Iowa. Hey says the Hawkeye State is having to take the plan one step at a time.The trains would travel around 80 miles an hour through Iowa and up to 110 miles an hour elsewhere in the region.